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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: firm · march · bat · mine · fork · bulb · staff · shower

  1. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. I've got to change the light ________________.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. firm — decided
  2. bat — the animal
  3. staff — employees
  4. bulb — of a plant
  5. shower — rain
  6. fork — in a road
  7. staff — a stick
  8. march — music
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. staff — employees
  12. bulb — for light
  13. shower — to wash
  14. bulb — for light
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. march — the month
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. march — the month
  20. mine — for digging
  21. firm — a company
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. firm — steady
  24. fork — a garden tool

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com